Container dispensing machine



Nov. 3, 1964 c. D. WILLIAMS ETAL 3,155,274

CONTAINER DISPENSING MACHINE Filed Jan. 17, 196s 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov.3, 1964 c. D. WILLIAMS ETAL 3,155,274

CONTAINER DISPENSING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 17, 1963INVENTOR CLYDE D. WILLIAMS. OSCAR F. FORSBURG.

ATTURNEYS.

Nov. 3, 1964 c. D. WILLIAMS ETAL 3,155,274

CONTAINER DISPENSING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 17, 1965 4,8 Equi INVENTOR. CLYDE D.W|LL\AM5. OSCAR F- FORSBURG. 6M, iM

ATTORNEYS.

Nov. 3, 1964 c. D. WILLIAMS ETAL 3,155,274

CONTAINER DISPENSING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan. 1'7, 1965INVENTOR, cLYDE n. WILLIAMS. oscAR I'. FoRssuRa.

l ,WM

ATTORNEYS.

Nov. 3, 1964 c. D. WILLIAMS ETAL 3,155,274

CONTAINER DISPENSING MACHINE 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 1'7, 1963 1INVENTOR.

CLYDE D. WLLiAMS. OSCAR F. FORSBURS.

I M] fw ATTORNEYS.

Vappended drawings, wherein:

.y removed for clarity;

United States Patent 3,155,274 CQN'IAINER DISPENSlNG MACHINE Clyde D.Williams and (Iscar Il'. Forsburg, both of PL. Box 446, Philipsburg, Pa.Filed lIan. 17, 1963, Ser. No. 252,10 8 Claims. (Cl. 221-130) Thisinvention is for a dispensing machine for beverage containers whereinthe containers are gently moved successively from a storage area througha feed path to a pick-up station with a minimum of agitation of thecontents of the containers.

Machines for vending cans or bottles containing carbonated liquidsnormally are provided with a storage area and a feeding mechanism bywhich cans or bottles roll or are dropped via a runway from storage to aterminal or discharge station of the machine. Attempts have been made tomove such beverage containers with the least amount of agitation so asnot to disturb the carbonated contents thereof, for example, which, whenshaken, release gas to the detriment of the beverage flavor andconsistency. Ofttimes even rupture of the containers will occur throughthe build up of the pressure of the released gases. In many instances,bottled or canned beverages are intended to be stored in a machine anddelivered such that undesired solid material suspended in the liquidwhen bottled precipitates or settles to the bottom of the container toremain undisturbed when the beverage is poured from the container. It ismost important that containers Aof such beverages be fed by mechanism ofthe machine a minimum of agitation in order to achieve the desiredresults. However, the customary beverage dispenser is designed with afeed path connecting the container storage area with the terminal orpick-up station such that the` cans or bottles roll on their sidesthroughout the length of the feed path, with disadvantageous agitationof the liquid contents of the containers occurring. j

It is the concept of the instant invention to provide a machine fordispensing containers from a storage area to a pick-up station through afeed path whereby the containers are received from the storage area andgently lowered and discharged to the terminal station with a minimum ofagitation of the contents thereof.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improvedcontainer dispensing machine.

Another object is the provision of a dispensing machine having a largestorage capacity for containers, and a gating mechanism for feeding thecontainers successively and selectively from various locations' of thestorage area.

Still another object is the provision of a feeding mechanism forcarrying containers from a storage area to a terminal station by gentlylowering the containers and sliding them lengthwise to the terminalstation.

A further object of this'invention is the provision of a containerdispensing machine having a gating mechanism for both advancing andtransferring the containers onto a carrier within a feed path fordelivery of the containers successively toa terminal station withVvminimum agitation of the contents of the containers.

A complete understanding ofthe invention may be had from the followingdetailed description of aspeciiic embodiment thereof when read inconjunction with the f FIG.` 1 is a front elevation of the machine withportions FIG. 2 is a side elevational View partially broken away;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of storage racks positioned on opposite sides of alever arm;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a storage rack with container releasingmechanism associated therewith;

ice

FIG. 5 is an end view of the mechanism disclosed in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a front elevational view of the shelf shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 depicts in plan View a feed mechanism lever arm in detail;

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view of the lever arm;

FIG. 9 is an end elevational view of the lever arm;

FIG. l0 is a front elevational view of the lever arm;

FIG. 1l is an enlarged detail View of the gating mechanism shownassembled in FIG. 4; and

FIG. l2 is an enlarged elevational view of the end of the gatingmechanism.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference charactersdesignate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views,there is shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, which illustrate a preferredembodiment, a cabinet structure 13 broken away to illustrate that thestorage and feeding mechanism of the machine is housed within a walledcabinet which is insulated and which may be the so-called walk-in cooleror refrigerator. The storage mechanism includes a plurality ofvertically spaced storage racks 14 extending inwardly from oppositesidewalls of cabinet 13. Vertically disposed laterally spaced members 16attached to said sidewalls are connected by suitable members such asangles 15 to provide support and means for attachment of one end of suchracks 14. Intermediate said sidewalls are a plurality of uprights 17disposed in longitudinally spaced relation relative to said sidewalls.Vertically spaced cross members 18 connect adjacent uprights 17 andprovide support for the adjacent ends of racks 14. As best shown in FIG.1, the racks 14 extending from each cabinet side wall terminate inspaced relation and the members 18 support the ends of the racks at alevel below that of the ends of the racks supported upon the member 15.Additionally, the uprights 17, to which the members 18 supporting theadjacent ends of the racks are attached, are in spaced relation and withsaid space are disposed the feeding mechanism arms 19 to be hereinafterdiscussed.

As best shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, containers 31 are selectivelyreceived from storage racks 14 onto pivotally mounted counter-balancedarms 19 which successively lower the container 31 from its respectivestorage rack onto the delivery rack 54 extending exteriorly of thecabinet 13. As best shown in plan view at FIG. 3, opposing ends ofadjacent storage racks are serviced by a counter-balanced lever arm 19which selectively receives a container from either storage rack andpivots downwardly to discharge the container to the next lower arm 19 byan end-wise sliding movement upon rollers 29 provided for the purpose.

A plurality of vertical spaced lever arms 19 are connected to the posts17 with their longitudinal axes perpendicular to the longitudinal axesof the racks 14. As best shown in FIG. 2, the arms 19 are retained insubstantial alignment with the top surface of the shelves or racks 14;thus, both the arms 19 and the racks 14 support each container with oneend thereof lower than the other. The arms 19 are pivoted on a fulcrumor lbearing 21 xed between opposed angle members 22 which are inback-to-back relation to one pair of angles 17. A counter-weight 23 ispositioned adjustably to one side of each bearing 21 on the arms 19 asshown best in FIG. 2. On the opposite side of the pivot bearing 21 fromthe weight 23 stop members 24 are provided on the uprights 16 to arrestthey upward movement of the end of each arm 19 when the opposite end ofthe arm moves downwardly to a horizontal plane from anonhorizontallplane as depicted in phantom outline in FIG. 2.

The arms 19, FIG. 3 are comprised of a pair of spaced fr a? anglemembers which are spaced apart by a crosspiece 26. The angle member 25at the unweighted end of each arm 19 has its horizontal legs taperedoutwardly from the center of the arm and terminated as at 27 whereas thecompanion vertical leg 28 of each member 25 extends longitudinally pastthe terminal 27V of each horizontal leg. A plurality of rollers 29 withtheir axes parallel with the longitudinal axis of the shelves or racks14 are mounted for free rotation on opposed vertical leg members 28. Thespaced rollers 29 are positioned on each side of the arm 19longitudinally for a distance greater than one-half the width of a rack14, for example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, to receive a containergravity fed thereon sidewise from a rack as shown by the attitude of abottle 31 in FIG. 2. The container is supported lengthwise by therollers 29 on each side of the arm 19 and it bridges the gap betweenconfronting rollers. The racks 14 are inclined so as to converge towardthe arms 19, and both the arms and the racks are inclined towards thefront face of the cabinet 13, FIG. 2, to maintain the bottoms of thecontainers lower than the tops thereof.

The gating mechanism for serially moving containers such as bottles orcans from the racks v14 is shown in detail in FIGS. 3, 4, 5, 6, 1l and12 wherein an operating plunger 32 with a knob 33 on the outerendfthereof extends inwardly through the front face of cabinet 13 and isslideably engaged to the racks through apertures 34 provided inalignment across bearing bars 35 which make up the individual racks 14.A pair of collars 36, 37 are lixedly connected to the plunger 32 withthe collar 36 disposed behind an angle 38 at the rear of the shelf 14,and the collar 37 normally urging against one of the bearer bars 35. Thecollars 36, 37 are connected by suitable means such as set screws to theplunger 32. Concentrically arranged over the end of the plunger 32opposite the knob 33 there is positioned a coil spring 39 having one endurging against the collar 36 and the other Vend against the angle 38 ofthe shelf 14. Pressure exerted inwardly against the knob 33 compressesthe spring 39 as the collar 36 is moved toward the fixed angle 38 of theshelf or rack 14. Subsequent release of the plunger knob 33 enables thespring 39 to return the plunger 32 to its fully extended position withthe collars 36 and 37 serving as stops when in contact with theadjacentbearer bar 35 and the vertical leg of the angle 38, respectively.

An elongated rod 41 is supported longitudinally between a pair ofadjacent bearer bars 35 of each rack 14 by spacers 42 having verticallyextending portions 43 which are secured transversely to bars 35 atlongitudinally spaced locations. The vertical portions 43 are suitablyapertured as at 44, or notched as at 45, Vto slideablyV support a rod 41in location on each rack 14. The members 42 are secured betweenconfronting faces of adjacent bearer bars 35 by bolts 46 having theirShanks passed through sleeves 47 which function as transverse spacersfor rigidly securing the bearer bars 35 together. The members 42 spacethe bars 35 adjacent the rod 41 in position such that the rod 41 isaligned substantially perpendicular to the, plunger 32. Each rod 41 isarranged to lie in a plane beneath the upper surfaces of the bearer bars35 in order that a bottle or can may roll on its side from one end ofthe rack'14 to the other, and with the container bottom in frictionalcontact with the front bar 35a which is of a height to extend above aplane including the upper surfaces of the bearer bars 35. At the innerterminal end of each rod 41 adjacent an arm 19 there is attached a stop48 which extends upwardly into the path of travel of a 'containerfrom arack onto an arm. The stop 48 is swung through an arc when the rod 41 isrotated in a manner vto be explainedrhereinafter whereupon the pathiscleared for the depositing by gravity feed of a container from a rackonto the arm.

Referring particularly to FIG. 4, pins 49 are depicted connected totherod 41 atspaced intervals onlygslightly greater than the outsidediameter of containers to be delivered. The Vpins 49 lie in a commonplane which is at a right angle with respect to the upright stop 48 innormal condition such that when the stop is moved from a vertical to ahorizontal direction by a quarter rotation of the rod 41, the pins 49extend vertically. When in such vertical position, the pins 49 hold thecontainers in position on the rack 14 except that the last container onthe rack rolls or slides by gravity onto an arm 19 because the stopmember 48 no longer obstructs its passage. When the pins are returned to.their normal position out of the path of the containers on a rack, thecontainers advance toward and are stopped by the member 48 which thenprojects into the path of the containers. The gating action isaccomplished through rocking of a pair of dogs 51 which are connected tothe operating plunger 32 by a clevis and pin connection as best shown inFIGS. 11 and l2. The dogs 51 are engaged xedly by means such as setscrews to the rod 41, and the rod extends through apertures provided inthe dogs. The dogs are bifurcated, and a pin 52 is attached to the rodand is received within the forks of the dogs. Accordingly, when theplunger 32 is pressed inwardly, the rod 41 is rotated a quarter turn toboth remove the stop 48 from its normal attitude, and to move the pins49 vertically between the containers disposed on the rack 14. When thespring 39 returns the plunger 32 to the normal condition, the pins 49are lowered by the quarter rotation of the rod 41 out of the feed pathof containers on the rack 14 for advancing the containers successivelyagainst the stop member 48.

Referring to FIGS. 7, 8, 9 and 10, the lever arm 19 is shown in detailwith the rollers 29 forming a wheeled track at the free end of the arm.The angles 25 forming f the arm has its horizontal leg tapered outwardlyin order that the spacing between the corresponding horizontal legs isincreased toward the end of the arm for the support of a bottle orcontainer on the rollers with the side of the bottle bridging thedistancebetween the rollers. In FIG. 8 the vertical leg 28 is showntapered upwardly from the terminal 27 of the horizontal leg of theangles 25, whereupon the outer rims of the rollers adjacent the end ofthe arm extend below the tapered portion of the end of the arm. Theouter rollers on the arm 19 abut the next lower arm 19 when a bottle islowered thereon as depicted in FIG. 2. This action is made possible bythe cantilevering of a bottle which is received on the rollers 29 from arack 14 when it is gated therefrom by the mans described hereinbefore.

The counter-weight 23 is adjustable on the arm 19 on the side oppositethe bearing 21 from the rollers 29 to enable a change of effect of theweight by its position selected on the arm 19. The weight is providedwith an aperture 53 passed therethrough which is selectively alignedwith a plurality of apertures 53a longitudinally spaced and extendingthrough the vertical legs 28 of the arm 19. A bolt passed through thealigned apertures 53 and 53a retains the weight in its selectedposition. The

bearing 21 is in an elevated position with respect to the upper surfacesof the legs 28 andis retained in such position bya pair of brackets 50such that the center of gravity of the weight is at a point above thepivot bearing 21 when the weight is moved toward the bearing. By theplacing of the'weight in this manner, the force of the counter-weight isadjustable to counter-act the weight of a bottle on the opposite end ofthe arm 19 whereupon the bottle is gently lowered on the arm fordelivery upon the next lower arm and its rollers, and so on to thestationary track 54 through the front ofthe machine. The bearing 21 isconnected at each end to the vertical angles 22 as best shown in FIG. 3,so that whenthe weight of the bottle is removed from the end of the arm19 it will return to a loading position through action of the counter-Weight 23.

Operation For the purposes of explanation, assume that bottles areloaded onto the racks 14 and oriented thereon as suggested by theshowing of the bottle 31 in phantom outline in FIG. 2 with the bottom ofthe bottle in contact with the front -bar 35a of the rack. An operatorpresses the knob 33, thus moving the plunger 32 toward the rear of themachine against the biasing action of the spring 39. The clevisconnection of dogs 51 with the rod 41 transmits the linear motion of theplunger travel to arcuate motion of the rod 41 whereupon the gate orstop 48 is swung out of the path of the bottle, which in addition to theforce of gravity, is pushed by the pin 49 adjacent the stop 48 torollthe bottle from the end of the Vrack 14 onto the arm 19. Only onebottle is discharged with each push of a plunger 32 because the pins 49are rotated vertically between adjacent bottles, and thus function asstop members as the last bottle adjacent the stop 48 rolls onto the arm19. Release of pressure against the plunger 32 causes the return of pins49 by action of the spring 39 to a horizontal plane out of the path ofmovement of bottles toward the stop 48 against which the entire row ofbottles comes to rest for a subsequent gating operation. When a bottle31 rolls from the rack 14 onto an arm 19, it straddles the angles of thearm and moves lengthwise on the rollers 29 toward the end of the arm. Asthe bottle approaches the end of the arm, the force of the weight of thefilled -bottle and its increase in distance from the fulcrum or bearing21 overcomes the Vforce of the counterweight times its distance from thebearing 21 whereupon the bottle is gently lowered to a next lower arm.The lowering of each successively lower arm into abutment with itssubjacent arm defines a path of travel for the bottle toward the track54 with the rollers 29 supporting the bottle throughout the entire path.

Stated otherwise, the counter-weight 23 is so selected that as thebottle 31 reaches the free end of the arm 19, the weight of the bottleon the lever arm gradually exceeds the force of the weight 23, and thearm gently lowers to bump onto the end of the next lower arm. Thus,

`the tapered end of the arm 19 abuts the next lower arm 19, and thebottle is transported by the rollers from one arm to the next and soforth to a stationary terminal rail 54 which is of a length to extendbeyond the front of the machine cabinet 13 with a delivery opening S5through the wall of the cabinet whereby the bottle is delivered againsta bumper 56 for pick-up. Although the embodiment is shown and describedwith reference only to a single rack 14 arranged on opposite sides ofeach arm 19, a pair of racks may be disposed on opposite sides of eacharm for doubling the capacity of containers which may be handled by themachine.

It is manifest that the above-described embodiment of the invention ismerely illustrative and that numerous modiications may be made withinthe spirit and scope of the appended claims.

. What is claimed is:

1. A container dispensing machine comprising stacked racks for holdingcontainers in side-by-side relation on each rack with the bottom of acontainer lower than its top, pivotal arms horizontally disposed andvertically arranged with one arm adjacent each rack for receiving acontainer thereon from a rack, means for releasing one container at atime from each rack onto an arm, the arms being pivotal about a fulcrumintermediate its ends such that the weight of a container disposed onthe arms tilts the arm to lower the container, each arm having aplurality of spaced rollers for gravity discharge of a container fromits one end onto Va next lower arm when tilted into abutment therewith,a stationary track for receiving a container from the lowest arm of thevertically spaced arms, the container being fed in a path dened by thelowering of one arm into abutting relation with the next lower arm andthe transfer of the container from one Gli arm to the next lower arm andnally to the stationary track whereby th'e contents of the bottle areundisturbed by the gentle lowering action etfected.

2. A container dispensing machine comprising a plurality of racksoriented for holding containers in side-by-side relation and fordischarge by gravity from corresponding inner ends of the racks, aplurality of horizontally disposed vertically spaced arms pivotal abouta fulcrum intermediate the ends of the arm, the racks being convergenttoward an arm for gravity feeding of a container onto the arm fromeither side thereof, a weight adjustably attached to one end of the arm,the other end of the arm having a plurality of spaced rollers upon whicha container is received from `a rack with the container weight beingsufficient to tilt the arm gently about the pivot to lower the containerto a next lower arm and for transfer of the container from the rollersof one arm to the rollers of the next lower arm, a stationary track forreceiving the container from the lowermost arm and for transfer of thecontainer to a pick-up station outside the machine, gating meansconnected to each rack for releasing one container at a time from theend of the rack by gravity onto an adjacent arm, and means extendingoutside the machine operatively connected to the gating means foractuating the gate of each rack selectively whereby a container from anyone of the racks may be fed onto an adjacent arm of the selected rackand for feeding to the pickup station.

3. A container dispensing machine comprising a housing, a plurality ofdivergent confronting racks within the housing, a plurality of armspivotal about a fulcrum intermediate the ends of each arm and having anadjustable counter-weight on one end of each arm, the other end of eacharm being adjacent the end of a rack for receiving a container gravityfed from the rack onto the arm, a container gating mechanism attached toeach arm including an operating rod having a plurality of pins extendinglaterally therefrom and a stop member iixed to the end of the rodpositioned at the end of the rack adjacent the arm and extending in adirection normal to the pins, a push rod linked to each operating rodaccessible from outside the machine whereby force directed inwardly onthe end of each push rod rotates the operating rod to move the stopmember from the path of travel of a container on the rack and to movethe plurality of pins to locations between adjacent containerspositioned on the rack, biasing means connected to each push rod forreturning the push rod to a normal position and the operating rod to aposition with the stop member in the path of travel of containers on therack and the pins are removed from between the containers on the rack,and each arm being tilted by the weight of a container gated from arack, the arms lowering into contact with a next lower arm by thecontainer weight to deiine a feed path from a rack to a lower position,and a container terminal station with a stationary track for receiving acontainer from a superjacent arm at the lower position and for transferof the container to a location outside the housing.

4. In a container dispensing machine having a plurality of racks for thegravity feed of containers vfrom ends thereof and gating means fordischarging the containers from the rack ends, a container transferringmeans positioned'to receive containers discharged from the rack endsincluding arms in spaced vertical alignment, each arm being tiltableabout an axis for lowering an upper arm in contact with a next lower armwhereby a container discharged onto the upper arm is lowered by such armto the next lower arm and so on from the upper arm to the lowest arm,and stop means located along the extended axis of the lowest arm forstopping the movement of the container, the stop means being located inan area accessible to an operator of the machine such that the containerdelivered to the stop means may be removed by the operator from themachine.

5. In a dispensing machine as in claim 4 wherein each arm is providedwith spaced rollers on which a container is conveyed axially along thearm for discharge of the container onto a subjacent arm and onto thestop means from the lowest arm, the rollers being located on theterminal portion of each arm opposite the end of the arm where the armpivotal axis is located such that a container received on the arm isgravity fed by movement on the arm rollers in a direction away from thepivotal axis of the arm whereby the arm and container thereon is loweredby the Weight of the container when the latter moves axially on the armrollers, the container being discharged on the rollers of the next lowerarm when the upper arm and the next lower `arm form a continuous path oftravel for the container.

6. In a container storage and dispensing mechanism, in

combination, v

( l) a plurality of vertically aligned and horizontally inclined meansfor storage and selective discharge therefrom of said containers,

(2) means disposed transversely of each said storage means insubstantial alignment with one end thereof for reception of a containertherefrom and for feeding the container to a dispensing opening in saidmechanism,

(3) each said container feeding means having one end thereof remote fromsaid storage means pivotally supported for movement between itsrespective storage means and the next lower feeding means fortransferring thereto a container received for a storage means disposedin vertical spaced relation to said next lower feeding means.

(4) the pivotal support for each said container feeding means includinga counter-weight returning the feeding means to its normal positiontransversely of its associated storage means after the container istransferred therefrom, and

(5) a stationary terminal rail disposed below the lowermost storagemeans and communicating with the exterior of the mechanism'forreceiving'a container from the lowermost feeding means and dischargingit from the mechanism.

7. The container storage and dispensing mechanism as deiined in claim 6wherein, said vertically aligned storage means are arranged at oppositesides of each said feeding means, whereby a container may be selectivelydischarged onto said feeding means from a storage means at either sideof the associated feeding means.

8. The container storage and dispensing mechanism as defined in claim 6,wherein each said container storage means is comprised of at least twospaced container supporting members disposed substantially normal ytothe associated feeding means, a container abutment member disposed in4spaced relation to and extending above the plane of said supportingmembers and against which one end of the containers are aligned Vinsubstantially parallel relation toy said associated container feedingmeans, a member is rotatably disposed between said container supportingmembers in substantial alignment therewith below the containersupportingL surfaces thereof, means mounted on said rotatable member andextending laterally therefrom for selectively restraining movement of acontainer olf the ends of the said supporting members onto said feedmeans and releasing the end container for movement onto the feedingmeans while restraining other containers from movement longitudinally ofthe supporting members, and means associated with said rotatable memberfor movement thereof to selectively position said laterally extendingmembers for their intended purpose.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,749,843 Roark Mar. 1l, 1930 2,232,619 MacCartee et al Feb. 18, 19412,941,643 Donnelly June 21, 1960

1. A CONTAINER DISPENSING MACHINE COMPRISING STACKED RACKS FOR HOLDINGCONTAINERS IN SIDE-BY-SIDE RELATION ON EACH RACK WITH THE BOTTOM OF ACONTAINER LOWER THAN ITS TOP, PIVOTAL ARMS HORIZONTALLY DISPOSED ANDVERTICALLY ARRANGED WITH ONE ARM ADJACENT EACH RACK FOR RECEIVING ACONTAINER THEREON FROM A RACK, MEANS FOR RELEASING ONE CONTAINER AT ATIME FROM EACH RACK ONTO AN ARM, THE ARMS BEING PIVOTAL ABOUT A FULCRUMINTERMEDIATE ITS ENDS SUCH THAT THE WEIGHT OF A CONTAINER DISPOSED ONTHE ARMS TILTS THE ARM TO LOWER THE CONTAINER, EACH ARM HAVING APLURALITY OF SPACED ROLLERS FOR GRAVITY DISCHARGE OF A CONTAINER FROMITS ONE END ONTO A NEXT LOWER ARM WHEN TILTED INTO ABUTMENT THEREWITH, ASTATIONARY TRACK FOR RECEIVING A CONTAINER FROM THE LOWEST ARM OF THEVERTICALLY SPACED ARMS, THE CONTAINER BEING FED IN A PATH DEFINED BY THELOWERING OF ONE ARM INTO ABUTTING RELATION WITH THE NEXT LOWER ARM ANDTHE TRANSFER OF THE CONTAINER FROM ONE ARM TO THE NEXT LOWER ARM ANDFINALLY TO THE STATIONARY TRACK WHEREBY THE CONTENTS OF THE BOTTLE AREUNDISTURBED BY THE GENTLE LOWERING ACTION EFFECTED.